Train Trip Day 1: Destination Portland, OR

Thanks everyone for your greetings! I am excited to share my photos with you all. I am a bit tired right now, so I will keep this short and will post more tomorrow. This is my first time taking a train ride. I lied – notorious for it – I took one from Riverside to San Francisco with my dorm mates Arnold and Bro Jose back when I was a freshman in college, but that was on CalTrain. That trip took 10 hours and I was asleep most of the time. This is my first time taking a "fancy" train ride. Let's see how well I fair cross-country.

My sister, Lucy, dropped me off at Diridon Station in San Jose, CA. The train was supposed to depart at 8:39pm, but there was an hour delay. I didn’t board until 9:35pm. We didn’t leave until 9:48pm. Funny thing, I imagined passengers would wait on the platform, but no, they keep the gates at this train station locked until 6 minutes before the train arrives. We lined up like a herd of cows and once the gates opened we walked to our designated cars.

Seats are nice, cozy and spacious. There are electrical outlets at every row; 2 seats per row. I was in the aisle seat, but legroom was big and the passenger next to me is small. It is late so I am going to knock out until tomorrow morning. Hey, end of the world was supposed to be today. I guess we dodged that as well.